


The General's Army

by DetectiveDorian



Category: Spyro the Dragon (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Fighting, Fluff and Angst, Injury, Injury Recovery, Post-Canon, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-22 05:35:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7421944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DetectiveDorian/pseuds/DetectiveDorian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A year after the Sorceress was defeated, Spyro, Hunter and Bianca travel to the Forgotten Worlds after a mishap with the portal. However, they arrive just in time as an ally of their old enemy resurfaces, targeting Sheila's home.</p><p>(Rated Mature for implied sensuality and violence)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> This is a currently-unfinished fanfiction I started writing a couple years ago. Perhaps by posting it on here I may find the inspiration to finish it.

"So, how long will it take to get to the Forgotten Worlds with this thing again?" asked Bianca the Rabbit softly, looking down at a short, squat brown bear in a lab coat, before taking in a wide, long yawn. The sun hadn't even come up yet over the mountains of the Artisan's Home in the Dragon Worlds, and Bianca, her lover Hunter the Cheetah, and the Professor had trudged into this area.  
  
The Professor, adjusting his glasses as Bianca placed a satchel of food - complete with a pair of bedrolls tied to it, and her spell book that the Sorceress had given to her a year ago that she'd been studying on and off stuffed into it - on the ground, took a moment to yawn, himself, while Hunter dropped his skateboard, bow, quiver, scuba gear, jet pack, flight helmet complete with goggles, and a laser blaster beside the satchel. Hunter was also wearing his pair of long, blue skate shorts, which Bianca had noticed him wearing a lot lately, though never had the chance to ask him why. "Just a moment, I'm still double-checking the calculations based on the speed of the balloon and how far you must go," said the Professor, his pencil scratching on the pad of paper.  
  
Bianca looked up at the balloon, again, which the Professor and Hunter had done a lot of work on; Around the balloon and connected to the basket to hold it all steady, a steel frame had been built for more support, since a pair of rocket boosters had been welded to the frame on the base of the balloon over the basket. On the back of the basket were several cans filled with fuel, while on the front, a few sandbags had been added in order to balance out the weight. "...You _did_ take out the extra boost component, right, Professor?" asked Bianca, looking back to the old bear.  
  
"First thing, on both boosters," he responded easily, and Bianca let out a soft, relieved sigh as the Professor pointed at the closest booster with his pencil. "I also lowered the thrust; while you will be going a fair bit faster than a normal balloon, there won't be so much thrust that the balloon will be impossible to control, or too fast to be relatively comfortable. Or doing flips." Hunter's ears perked up, though he wisely said nothing, taking a seat on the ground as he began sifting through all of his various equipment and gear. "I know we were going to make a rudder, but honestly, without being in my lab, I just simply don't have the resources to make it, and you two need to leave as quickly as possible. It's a wonder we managed to get the frame built..." The Professor looked back at his notes.  
  
"Anyway, Bianca, you'll need to use your magic to steer. A few degrees off from west every now and then shouldn't make too much of a difference in the long run, but be sure to check the heading every hour or so, and with any luck..." The Professor scribbled just a moment more, before tapping the pad. "...You should arrive at Sunrise Spring in a week, as long as you manage your time wisely, and make sure you refill the tanks regularly. One fuel can should be enough for both; since they don't have quite the power as they did before, they'll likely be a little more efficient and not burn quite as quickly."  
  
"Well, at least I'm packing food," muttered Bianca, rubbing her eyes with another yawn and glancing over to where several dragons, young and old, were sleeping about ten or so yards away. It was lucky for them that dragons were heavy sleepers, something she had discovered herself just last year, unless something loud enough roused them. She thought to herself that they should only turn on the boosters once they were high enough in the air. Speaking of loud noises... "Hunter, why did you drag all that stuff up here?" she asked flatly, rubbing her temple as the Professor wisely moved over to the balloon, busying himself with giving it some last-minute inspection.  
  
"I couldn't decide," said Hunter, glancing up, before lifting his skateboard. "I mean, there's a couple skate parks that I could shred on..." His other hand lifted up a pair of flippers. "Or I could go diving in Seashell Shore." He dropped the skateboard, where it rolled down the hill, neither he nor Bianca noticing as he picked up the blaster. "Ooh! Agent 9 has a shooting range on his island, right, Professor?" Bianca's palm slid up along her forehead.  
  
"Yes," answered the bear, moving back from behind the basket as he jotted down a few notes on a pad of paper. "He's been using my matter replicator to make multiple targets as he destroys them. It's a good thing I specifically programmed it to only work on inanimate objects, or else he'd have cloned himself by now. I daresay one Agent 9 is enough..."  
  
"Don't encourage him!" Bianca snapped at the Professor, but kept her voice down. "We don't have time for this!"  
  
The bear lifted his paws placatingly. "I'm only saying, Bianca, it might also be prudent to tell Agent 9 when you see him that I am doing fine, and the portal-free long-distance instant transmission device was successful in its testing."  
  
Bianca gave up, letting out a heavy sigh. "...Too bad it was only one-way," she said sympathetically. "My magic only allows me to go so far, and only for myself, or else I'd let you hitch a ride." She looked down at Hunter, who had sat back, eyes moving from one of his things to the other. "If _someone_ hadn't--"  
  
"Why don't you just shove everything in the basket and be done with it?" said a voice from behind them, and they all jumped before turning. Spyro, a purple dragon who was barely much larger than the recently born dragon hatchlings - though he had grown a little bit in the last year - with a yellow belly, horns, and head ridge, took in a wide yawn, his violet eyes currently half-lidded as he looked around at everyone, before using his front paw to kick Hunter's skateboard, that he'd just dropped from his teeth, up the hill. "That rolled into my nose, by the way." Sparx, a golden dragonfly buzzed to Spyro's side, looking just as tired.  
  
"Spyro!" yelped Bianca, biting her lip as she knelt to Spyro's side, lowering her voice again. "We didn't mean to wake you." Spyro shrugged, though he blinked, looking past Bianca back to the balloon. She followed his gaze, and saw Hunter with all of his gear, even the flippers, in his arms as he walked towards the balloon. "Hunter!" she hissed, stomping over to him. "What are you doing!?"  
  
"I'm putting everything in the balloon," he said simply, blinking at her before, indeed, dropping everything into the basket, before pointing at Spyro. "What!? Spyro's the one who suggested it! Don't worry, there's still room... Here, watch, I'll get it secured..." The cheetah vaulted over the basket lip, disappearing behind it as Bianca rubbed her temples, turning to Spyro to fix him with a flat glare.  
  
_"Thanks,_ Spyro."  
  
"Just trying to expedite the process. And for the record, you chose him," Spyro shot back with a grin, turning to look at the satchel of food to sniff at it. "I had to live with him for two years before you stole all the dragon eggs. Where're you guys going, anyway?" he added, ignoring Hunter's glare as the cheetah briefly lifted his head up from behind the basket's wall. "You look like you've packed for days."  
  
"The Forgotten Worlds," answered Hunter cheerfully as he stood up again, only for Bianca to clap her hand over his maw, but it was too late; Spyro stiffened and his tail began to lash side to side behind him, betraying his irritation as his grin slid off his face.  
  
"...What happened to the portal to the Forgotten Worlds?" he asked sternly as he looked slowly between each of them. Sparx had landed on Spyro's back, almost asleep again, but he was paying attention, now, slowly lifting into the air with a deep frown and narrowed gaze.  
  
"Now, my boy... It was an accident," said the Professor delicately, looking up at Hunter and lifting his palms towards Spyro.  
  
Spyro turned his flat expression onto Hunter as the cheetah slowly lowered into the basket again. "Hunter..." Hunter's ears, the last things seen from over the lip of the basket, pinned against his skull, Bianca shifted uncomfortably on her feet and the Professor cleaned his glasses nervously on his lab coat.  
  
"Uh, I..." Hunter stammered as he straightened up again, fidgeting as he looked from Bianca, to the Professor, then back to Spyro, who crossed his front paws over his chest while sitting on his haunches, his back foot tapping on the ground as he waited for an explanation.  
  
"Hunter... Wanted his plane to go faster," said Bianca, fiddling with the hem of her short, brown dress. "We went to the Peacekeepers Home last week to get some advice from those guys, since they're military guys, and all, and the Professor happened to be there, on his way back to the Forgotten Worlds just as we arrived..."  
  
"...And I did some tinkering," continued the Professor, "along with Bianca's magic, I figured the plane could break the sound barrier if Hunter so wanted once I was done... I'd failed to figure into my calculations Hunter's ability to... Erm, _control_ the plane at that speed."  
  
"Oh. So, you're _all_ idiots," Spyro said flatly, his front paw coming up to press against the ridge of scales above his eyes that formed his brow. "I just-- I-I can't leave you guys alone for more than _two seconds,_ can I?" Bianca looked down at her feet in shame, clasping her hands together above her tail as her long ears pinned against her skull, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Hunter and the Professor did generally the same thing. However, as Spyro sighed and spoke again, Bianca looked up. "Are you alright, Hunter?" Spyro asked. Hunter nodded, lowering down so that his chin rested on the lip of the basket.  
  
"Yeah, I-I bailed out with the ejection seat just before I crashed," said Hunter, disappearing behind the basket again as he went back to arranging everything so that there was enough room, probably just to keep himself busy, Bianca guessed.  
  
"He received a dislocated shoulder when he landed, since the parachute malfunctioned," said the Professor, twisting his pencil between his fingers. "But after popping it back in, he recovered... Rather quickly, actually."  
  
Bianca lifted a hand, pointing upwards. "I've been practicing healing magic lately. Guess that's a good thing."  
  
Spyro shook his head, looking between them all. "So why have I only found out about this now?" he asked.  
  
"The Peacekeepers promised to keep it a secret," said Bianca, and Spyro's eyes fell on her, making her stammer a bit. "A-and the Professor bribed a Balloonist to borrow his balloon. We decided it best to use the cover of night, and the Professor wanted this hill to be where we lift off, since it was clear all around from where we can go, and the Artisan Home had low humidity so that there was less drag against the balloon, or... Or s-something like that. Honestly, th-the technobabble went over my head. I'm a sorceress, not a scientist."  
  
"And with the sun rising in the east, it'll be simple to decide which way is west," added the Professor, "so that Bianca can adjust the balloon's trajectory with wind when she needs to."  
  
Spyro took a long, calming breath through his nose, before letting it out again. "Professor, how long until the portal's fixed?" he asked the bear bluntly.  
  
"Well... If my calculations are correct, I predict it may take a few... Er, weeks. Possibly months." Spyro huffed, pressing both paws into his face. "The dragon - I think his name is Thor - that gave advice for the plane was volunteered to assist in the reconstruction, but that's all the help the Peacekeepers gave me. I suppose that is a fitting punishment... He used his fire breath to weld the frame together and the boosters onto the frame... I had the idea to send Bianca and Hunter to the Forgotten Worlds to fix the sister portal."  
  
"And since the portal was also connected to Avalar, you can't just speed up the journey. Not to mention, the portals are synchronized with one another, so not only is the portal in the Forgotten Worlds probably destroyed, the one in Avalar probably fell to pieces, too," Spyro guessed, looking over to Hunter again. "So since you're going to the Forgotten Worlds, and putting the portal back together would probably take just as long, give or take, as the one in the Peacekeepers' Home, you decided that in your free time, you'd _goof off_ like you're on vacation, right, Hunter?"  
  
The inside of the cheetah's ears flushed a hot pink, and Spyro shook his head. "...You do realize that all of the other dragons are gonna find out about this eventually, right?" The others fidgeted, Spyro letting out another sigh. "Alright, look. Here's the deal: I never saw you this morning, and I don't know about the portal's destruction, either, until the other dragons discover it. Okay?" Bianca nodded, but the Professor had sat down with his back against the basket, while Hunter chewed on his lip.  
  
As Spyro turned his back on them, Hunter suddenly spoke up. "Wait! L-let us make it up to you." Spyro paused a moment, looking over his shoulder. "Uh... Y-you... You could come with us!" Bianca blinked, her eyes going wide, and Spyro lifted a brow, turning to Hunter again.  
  
"What, ride with you guys in a cramped balloon, for however many days it'll take to get to the _other side of the world,_ on top of all the _crap_ you shoved into it?" Spyro huffed, smoke billowing out from his nostrils. "That, along with the fact that I'm _pissed_ at all three of you? Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather go back to sleep."  
  
Once again, he turned his back on the balloon, but the Professor spoke up, making Spyro stop in his tracks. "I'll tell the other dragons." Bianca and Hunter turned to the bear, blinking simultaneously as the Professor got back to his feet. "You're right, Spyro. The Peacekeepers told me the same thing about everyone finding out eventually, too. I just... My hypothesis was that all the dragon clans tend to keep to themselves, so it would be quite a while until someone discovered the destroyed portal..."  
  
Spyro nodded. "Well, you're not wrong, Professor," he said, frowning a little in thought. "...But, you never know when someone might just decide to stop by to say 'hi'. Could be in a few months, or even tomorrow."  
  
"Right." The Professor sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose. "So, I had better tell them the truth first thing in the morning, instead of keeping it a secret. I daresay I'll have probably worn out my welcome long before the portal is finished, anyway, and they'd likely get suspicious of me hanging about..." The Professor sighed, before tucking his pencil and notebook into his lab coat pocket. "You should probably go with Bianca and Hunter, though. I can tell the dragons that you went to keep things moving. If they ask, I would think that the denizens of the Forgotten Worlds will want an explanation from someone they can actually... Er, trust."  
  
Bianca and Hunter flinched, Bianca in particular pulling on a frown and crossed her arms over her chest. While she knew the Professor had a point, she had her own - rather selfish - reasons for not wanting Spyro to come along. Spyro took another deep breath, before letting it out in a sigh. "I don't know," he said, and Sparx looked down at his friend to smile, which Bianca took as confirmation that where Spyro went, Sparx was right behind him. After a few moments of silence, Hunter spoke up, rather hesitant.  
  
"...You can... Bring your skateboard."  
  
* * *  
  
The routine became simple: Fly the balloon for as long and as straight as possible during the day; Stop for bathroom breaks and food and to sleep for the night; Wake up as early as possible to eat breakfast and make full use of the daylight; Repeat.  
  
Everyone had been fairly silent the entire time, barring the occasional small talk and the initial explanation of whatever Spyro hadn't yet been filled in on, Bianca especially being tight-lipped, aside from telling the boys to wake up, or an incantation to make the wind blow, or letting them know that they were landing or lifting off. Their food supply was starting to get much thinner, as well, Spyro assuring them that he could go without food for a fair bit longer than they could and for them not to worry about him.  
  
"So, how long has it been?" asked Spyro, looking over to the other two. "I've kinda lost track of time, to be honest." Bianca leaned out slightly, looking up at the sky, before stepping over Spyro's skateboard to the other side near the dragon, though she deliberately avoided his eyes, to do the same.  
  
"Brace yourselves." She twirled her fingers and muttered an incantation before a breeze whipped past them, the basket swaying a little more as the balloon's trajectory was changed slightly, Spyro gripping onto the basket with his claws to prevent himself from falling. "...We've been flying for six days, it's early-afternoon, and since we used our last can of fuel this morning, we're probably gonna be running on fumes soon, which worries me..." She bit her lip before shaking her head. "At any rate, if the Professor's math is right, we'll probably get to our destination tomorrow. Or another few days."  
  
Briefly, her eyes fell on the satchel of food, before she walked back to where she was before, leaning on the lip of the basket and facing away from the other two, falling into silence after letting out a soft huff. Hunter looked up from his skateboard, on which he'd been fiddling with the trucks, to look up at Bianca. "Hey... Bianca?" began Spyro slowly.  
  
"Spyro, just... Just don't," she said softly, her head lowering into a hand as she pressed her fingers into her closed eyes. "I can't do this right now." Hunter reached out to her, lifting a hand to place it on hers. She grunted and shook her head subtly as she looked back down at him, and he let his hand slip down from hers again, where it flopped limply onto the bottom of his board.  
  
_"No,_ Bianca, listen," pressed Spyro, a little more firmly as he dropped to the floor of the basket, avoiding his skateboard so that he didn't disturb Sparx. "Don't worry about the portal, okay? I mean... Okay, yeah, I was mad at first, but I've had a long time to think about it..." Spyro let out a soft sigh. "...And, well, let's be honest: I'd have volunteered to be Hunter's copilot." Bianca lifted her head, turning to look at him again with a little blink. "I mean... C'mon, a possibility of breaking the _sound barrier!?"_ He let out a laugh, the thought of it obviously exciting him. Hunter couldn't help but smile. "All dragons with wings _dream_ of someday flying that fast! I would have jumped at the chance, just to see how it feels. I guess I was more upset that you'd left me out of it, than anything else." Bianca let out a sigh, turning away again and shaking her head. "So, don't be upset at Hunter, Bianca, because I would have been an idiot along with the rest of you, no question."  
  
"I'm not upset at Hunter," said Bianca distantly, shifting back and forth on her feet and wringing her hands together. "I'm upset at _myself_ for being an idiot, and going along with _his_ idiocy..." She waved her hand over to Hunter. "...and being in heat _really_ doesn't help with my stress levels, and..." Bianca's eyes widened and she clamped both hands over her mouth, the insides of her ears flushing a hot pink, and Spyro blinked before a look of realization flashed over his face.  
  
"Hey, it-it wasn't all your fault," said Hunter quickly, shooting a glance at Spyro, who closed his mouth just as he was about to say something. "The Professor went along with it, too, and he's supposed to be a genius. I'm the idiot who wanted to go fast in a plane not built for Mach 5. Besides, if you're an idiot, you're _my_ idiot."  
  
Bianca turned to him, still blushing furiously, before leaning over to rest her head against Hunter's lean chest, hiding her face. "Haha..." She laughed, shaking her head and lacing her fingers on the small of the cheetah's back, just above the waistband of his skate shorts. "Thanks, Hunter," she said softly, and the cheetah lifted his other hand to place a finger under her chin, lifting it up as he smiled, looking into her eyes. "You're my idiot, too."  
  
"Love ya, Buns," said Hunter tenderly, and Bianca let out another soft laugh, reaching up to place a hand on the cheetah's cheek, fingers sliding up to scratch behind his ear, Hunter letting out a soft, feline purr as his head tilted into her fingers.  
  
"Love you too, Pussycat." The pair closed the distance between their lips, both of them letting out a soft, pleased sound, and held their kiss for a few moments, until Spyro cleared his throat.  
  
"'Scuse me. Believe me, I hate to ruin the moment, but I _am_ still here, y'know," Spyro said flatly, the couple breaking apart and blushing furiously as they looked down at their feet. "I can't tell you two to get a room if there's barely any _room_ as is, so try to hold off on public displays of affection, at least until we land for the night so you guys can have some privacy. _Yeesh."_ Out of the corner of his eye, Hunter saw Spyro shake his head, but also caught the dragon pulling on a grin, his white teeth and fangs contrasting with his deep purple scales. Well, at least things were a little better, now.  
  
"Sorry," they muttered, though Hunter reached out to take Bianca's hand and this time she reciprocated as she laced her fingers with his, and they leaned on each others' shoulders. Spyro rolled his eyes before turning around and hopping back up onto the lip of the basket, his back legs supporting him on the wall as he looked down.  
  
"Oh, hey, there it is!" he exclaimed, pulling himself more fully on the lip. Hunter leaned over, watching as the mountain range moved below them and that familiar green landscape appeared from behind it. Sparx finally woke up, stretching out his small insect body a few inches across Spyro's skateboard, before buzzing questioningly at his friend, looking blearily up at the dragon. "Yeah, look, Sparx, Sunrise Spring Home, down there. Guess the Professor's math was off by a couple days... Not that I'm complaining, in this case."  
  
The rocket boosters suddenly both began to splutter and whine loudly, the four passengers of the basket flinching as the booster on the left died first, the right making them swerve suddenly. Hunter took Bianca to the floor to prevent her from falling out of the basket. Spyro wasn't as lucky; the dragon latching his claws into the lip of the basket and holding on for dear life until the right booster finally died out as well, and the balloon simply began to drift with the wind, rotating a little bit by the momentum that the booster had given it.  
  
Climbing to his feet, Hunter stepped over to Spyro and pulled him back into the basket, thankful that Spyro was so small. "Well," said Bianca wryly, and Hunter turned to look at her. She'd remained on the floor on her belly, but was supporting her cheek with her palm while she leaned on an elbow, rather casually. "...That was well-timed." Spyro and Hunter snickered, the cheetah bending down to help Bianca get back to her feet. Sparx had fortunately grabbed hold of the tip of Spyro's tail just in time, though he was predictably a little frazzled. Bianca pursed her lips, walking to the front of the balloon and looking out towards Sunrise Spring in the distance. "...Hm, it still might take this balloon another... I dunno, half an hour to an hour or so to land? More or less? We're pretty far away, even though we can see it..."  
  
Spyro's head tilted as he frowned, humming softly to himself as Hunter moved to stand next to Bianca. "I could probably make it," said Spyro, spreading his wings a bit. "It might be a little tight, though..." Hunter and Bianca exchanged a glance as they thought about that one, Hunter scratching at his chin as he glanced around at all the stuff he'd taken with him for something that might help.  
  
"I'd let you borrow my jet pack if it weren't too big for you," Hunter said, turning back to Spyro, who shrugged.  
  
"It's the thought that counts," responded the small, purple dragon teasingly as he smirked at Hunter, who grinned right back, playfully nudging his knuckles against Spyro's chin.  
  
"Oh! I could just use my magic to give you a little boost," suggested Bianca, snapping her fingers. "I mean, the landing would still be up to you, but..."  
  
"That might work, actually," said Spyro, nodding. "And don't worry about my landing, Bianca, just worry about yours. Even though mine'll probably still kinda suck." They looked back at Sunrise Spring again, Bianca chewing on her lip with her mildly bucked teeth in thought, which Hunter just found to be absolutely adorable. Spyro turned to Sparx. "Go ahead and hold onto me, pal. There'll be a lot of wind between here and the ground."  
  
"Let's see, I think I'll just need to redirect the wind to lift you up under the wings for more height..." Bianca stretched out her fingers as Spyro nodded again, and Sparx landed on his back, latching on before letting out a buzz that sounded vaguely like "ready" to Hunter. Spyro gave his wings a few flaps before standing on the very edge of the basket's lip.  
  
"We'll meet up with you later," said Hunter, stepping back to give Bianca some room and to brace himself in case the wind buffeted the balloon again. Spyro smiled to Hunter, before looking to Bianca.  
  
"Alright, I'm ready," he said, before he turned himself in the direction of Sunrise Spring. Balancing on the basket's lip, he lowered his head, and lifted his hips, where they gave a catlike wiggle, before he leaped off, his wings spread as wide as they could go to either side of his body. Bianca uttered an incantation, and swept her arm upwards, making a gust of wind lift Spyro several meters, before his wings allowed him to glide towards the Sunrise Spring, Sparx leaving a trail of gold behind them.  
  
"Good luck!" called Bianca, though Spyro understandably didn't respond, and Bianca let out a soft sigh, looking back to Hunter, who had stepped up to her side, draping his arm across her shoulders. "Do you think he'll make it?" she asked.  
  
"You know Spyro," said Hunter, waving a hand and trying to look nonchalant, though inwardly, he was just as worried. "He and Sparx have survived things that probably should have killed them a hundred times over. You should know; You've tried." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bianca frown and narrow her eyes at him, and he couldn't help but smirk, even as she landed a punch on his shoulder. "Ow."  
  
"...Yeah, you're right," said Bianca softly after a moment, before leaning into Hunter and wrapping her arm around his waist across his back. "In the meantime..." Hunter blinked and looked down, meeting Bianca's eyes as she she swayed her hips side to side. "...We're going to be alone in this balloon until we land, which will take a while, with our boosters out of fuel..." Bianca tilted her head to one side as she bit her lip again.  
  
Hunter pulled on a massive grin, his tail whipping back and forth. "Well, how would we pass the time?" he asked, lifting his head and reaching up to tap his chin with a finger in mock-thought, though he looked down at her and poked his tongue out before starting to walk backwards towards the wall of the basket, pulling Bianca along with him as she let out a soft giggle.  
  
"Between two idiots, I'm sure we could put our heads together and think of something," she said, her voice dropping into a soft, teasing rumble as she pressed a hand to the middle of Hunter's chest.  
  
However, just as Hunter was about to respond, his foot suddenly slipped out from under him, Bianca grabbing him around the waist as they fell to the floor of the basket, Hunter's head bouncing off the lip and Bianca burying her face into his stomach. For a moment, they panted heavily, their pulses having skyrocketed, especially since they were several hundred feet above the ground.  
  
Bianca recovered first, lifting her head up with her eyes wide, and looked over her shoulder, Hunter soon following her gaze. Spyro's skateboard had rolled back and bumped into her boot after Hunter had slipped on it. Bianca's head turned slowly to look back at Hunter, and both of them burst out laughing. "There's some irony for you," Bianca said once she recovered. "Of all the stuff that you shoved into this basket, it's _Spyro's_ skateboard that almost kills us."  
  
Hunter let his head fall back against the basket's wall with a laugh, since he was in a seated position, and he closed his eyes as Bianca crawled up along his body, resting her cheek against his chest, both of them taking in deep breaths to steady themselves. "...That didn't kill the mood, did it?" he asked hesitantly after a few moments of silence, and Bianca snickered, lifting her head with a smirk and a perked eyebrow.  
  
"Are you kidding?" she asked wryly. "We have a lot of lost time to make up for..." The pair grinned at each other and Bianca pulled herself up to sit in his lap, placing her palm on his cheek as her lips briefly met with his before she pulled back again to look him in the eyes. "Mm, and you're still not off the hook for putting all your crap in here, so you still have to make it up to me."  
  
Hunter snorted, his fingers lacing on the small of Bianca's back, before she leaned in again, wrapping her arms around Hunter's neck as the pair gazed into each other's eyes, Bianca lifting herself up to press her nose against his, rubbing them together. "I'll do my best," said Hunter, and Bianca smirked, reaching up to scratch him behind his ear again, making him purr, before she closed in, her eyes closing and her head tilting to one side, Hunter meeting her halfway as their lips locked together.


	2. Initial Assault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The General arrives at Sheila's Alp, delivering his first assault upon the Forgotten Worlds in order to conquer them. Sheila must defend her home, with help from her friends.

"Oh, I feel this already," muttered Spyro as he braced himself, his wings taking him down towards the green. However, even with Bianca's spell adding several meters of height to give him more of a chance, his belly still smacked into the top of a ten-foot tall wall that separated Sunrise Spring Home from the rest of the unclaimed land to the east, his paws only able to do so much to soften the blow, and he bounced, bowling over from the momentum of his glide.  
  
Landing on the soft grass, he rolled forward before sliding a few feet on his chin, his haunches and tail arcing over his horned head from the inertia, before they flopped on the ground. "...Ow," he grunted, and Sparx joined him from above, hovering over the dragon's head.  
  
"You alright?" asked the dragonfly, his voice basically just a series of insect buzzes and clicks, but Spyro could understand him. Spyro coughed, and some blades of grass blew out from between his lips.  
  
"Dandy," muttered Spyro, glad that dragons of all shapes and sizes were just really tough, before climbing to his feet and giving himself a once-over and a shake to get any excess grass and dirt off his body, though as he looked to his right, he noticed that he'd landed near the small pond that the stream that cut through the Spring fed into. With a smile, he trotted over, lowering himself onto his haunches before leaning down to get himself a drink. Afterwards, he simply hopped into the water, while Sparx hovered around some flowers nearby, hunting.  
  
After washing himself for a few minutes and climbing back out of the water, Spyro shook again, splaying droplets everywhere, including Sparx, who spluttered and buzzed indignantly, his wings beating harder to get the water off. "Hey!"  
  
"Sorry, pal," said Spyro, taking a seat on his haunches and starting to groom himself, using his claws to get into any nooks and crannies of his scales to get the dirt out. He also used one of his paws to pull back on the yellow spine that went from his scalp in between his horns to the back of his head, before letting it go, where it bobbled a little bit. Afterwards, Spyro looked up, catching sight of the balloon after a few moments, though obviously, he couldn't see Hunter or Bianca now. He guessed that they were now taking advantage of their newfound privacy. "Anyway, we got at least a half-hour to kill. Probably longer if Bianca and Hunter decide to take their time landing. Which I won't blame them if they do."   
  
Sparx pounced into a nearby patch of flowers, a buzzed "glomf" noise indicating that he'd caught a butterfly. After lifting up, and spitting out a flower petal, Sparx turned back to Spyro. "So, you're over it, then?"  
  
"'Over it'?" repeated Spyro, head tilting as he blinked.  
  
"How did you put it... The 'Plague of Love'?" Spyro let out a sigh, lifting a front paw to press against his closed eyes as Sparx buzzed out a snicker.  
  
"When you were asleep, I'd said I had a lot of time to think about the portal getting destroyed," said Spyro. "I had a long time to think about them, too. When I'd said the 'Plague of Love' thing, at the time I was still upset at first because Bianca had tried to kill me a few times, and I still didn't trust her."  
  
"And you trust her now?" asked Sparx softly, his teasing tone dropped.  
  
"Yeah... I mean, the other dragons forgave her, once she told them what the Sorceress had planned to do..." Even now, after a year since the Sorceress had been killed and the hatchlings were no longer in danger of being slaughtered for their wings, Spyro's tail lashed across the soft grass and his teeth bared as he felt a ripple of anger, though he took in a deep breath, calming himself. It was over, now. "And that helped me, too. And the more I thought about it, and watched her as she did everything she could to make up for what she'd done... Yeah. Yeah, you could say I'm over it."  
  
Sparx was quiet for a long while, which was unusual when if was just him and Spyro. It helped that Spyro was one of very few who could actually understand him. "You're not jealous, are you? Of their relationship?" For a moment, Sparx feared he'd said the wrong thing, as Spyro paused in his grooming, slowly looking up at Sparx with a small frown.  
  
"Jealous?" asked Spyro softly, head tilting to one side. His expression was hard to read; Somewhere between thoughtful and mildly offended, though after a few seconds, he grinned, and Sparx relaxed. "...Heh. You know something I've noticed about this hero gig, pal? I've seen places, and met people, that probably no other dragon I know has ever seen, at least not for a millennium. I don't wanna give that up. Am I happy for Hunter and Bianca? Yeah, I am, now. But, jealous? Nah. I honestly can't see myself settling down, like them. I've gotten used to the freedom, to the adventure, to the excitement... I mean, sure... Getting almost killed kinda sucks."  
  
"Kinda?" asked Sparx, landing on a flower with a bemused smile at his lifelong friend. Spyro smirked, going back to his grooming.  
  
"We're not dead yet, are we?" he pointed out, letting out a little laugh. "I don't think I have much of a chance at a love life, anyway... I'm too small. It'd be... Awkward." There was a pause between the two friends, as Sparx watched Spyro's head droop and his tail curl around his haunches. Sparx would likely never build the nerve to ask, but he had to wonder if Spyro was ever sad that he'd probably never be able contribute to the Year of the Dragon.  
  
"Well, how long has it been since you were last in the Forgotten Worlds?" asked Sparx, deciding now was a good time to change the subject, which Spyro seemed to appreciate, a tiny smile playing across his lips.  
  
"Ah... Crap... It's been a while..." Spyro paused, reaching up with a paw to rub the back of his neck. "Ten months, maybe? I know it's been a year since we kicked the Sorceress' butt, then Yin and Yang were born, and Bianca's been staying in the Dragon Worlds with Hunter since then... I swear I've stopped by... It _has_ been a while, though..."  
  
"Maybe you should visit some friends?" suggested Sparx softly, as the pair glanced up at the balloon high above them.   
  
"Y'know, that's not a bad idea," conceded Spyro, before he started trotting up the hill, briefly glancing at a portal near the top of the hill. It was the Sunny Villa portal, built to resemble the stone wall of a house, painted a cheery yellow, with a red shingled roof on top. Once they hit level ground, he paused, spotting a small bridge that had been built over the stream. "Oh, this is way more convenient than jumping over," said Spyro appreciatively, his tail swishing happily back and forth. "Heh, I guess a lot changes in a year."  
  
"Hopefully all for the best," mentioned Sparx, looking around. "You think Sheila's place has changed at all?"  
  
"Maybe. I hope she put up some stairs or something..." With that, Spyro walked over the bridge before heading towards a portal set against the wall of the mountain. This portal's frame was built to resemble a small wooden cottage with a circular window above the doorway, where the portal itself glowed merrily. As Spyro approached, "Sheila's Alp" appeared above the portal in golden, floating letters. "...I really need to ask Sheila what an 'alp' is."  
  
Rolling his eyes, Sparx nudged Spyro on the haunches. "Go on, Spyro, I bet she'll be glad to see you."  
  
Spyro scoffed softly, shaking his head as he walked towards the portal. "Maybe. If she even recognizes me."  
  
"Yeah, you _are_ pretty forgettable," teased Sparx, earning a flat glare from Spyro, which only made the dragonfly snicker as the pair entered the portal.  
  
* * *  
  
Sheila the Kangaroo let out a soft, frustrated sigh, scratching an itch on her pouchless belly. She'd been laying on her back on a sizable pile of hay, and by the looks of her bed, with hay strewn about on all sides, Sheila hadn't been resting very well.   
  
"Crikey, I hate bein' in heat," she groaned, sitting up, but only to lift one long leg and a large foot to scratch behind her ears. "'Least I ain't spendin' it in cage... Again." Though, the cave that was her "house" wasn't a whole lot better. It was a dead-end part of the large cavern that cut through her mountain, with a reasonably-sized room and a single torch stuck in the rock floor near the back to add some light.  
  
The kangaroo rolled onto her side, facing the torch, with her back to the entrance to her room. She stretched out, her tail arching slightly and her toes wiggling and curling as she let out a grunt and a groan before relaxing, curling up and closing her deep green eyes. However, even if certain biological things weren't preventing her from getting any sort of rest, the scrambling of hooves on stone certainly would keep her up.   
  
Sheila sighed again, climbing back to her large feet and lifting her front paws to scratch behind her ear again as a billy goat wearing lederhosen, one she recognized as Pete, stumbled around the corner, bleating in panic, his yellow fur standing on end.  
  
Immediately, her face went from exasperation to concern. Pete wouldn't be this worked up over nothing. "Pete, what's wrong?" demanded Sheila, hopping over to the mountain goat, who panted and heaved, clutching his ribs and grasping for the kangaroo.  
  
"R-rhy... Rhynocs!"  
  
Sheila's jaw fell open. "No... But... The Sorceress!?"  
  
"Zhey... Have a new leader," panted the goat, his accent much more pronounced than usual, his eyes bloodshot. "Bobby, Billy und I saw zhem... Climbing up ze cliff... Zhere are big ones! Ones in... Armor! Crossbows, und pickaxes! Und... Und..."  
  
Sheila's face hardened, and she grasped Pete by the shoulders, shaking him out of his panicked babbling. "Where're they now?" she asked.  
  
"Z-zey vere still climbing up, vhen I saw zhem, vith ropes und grappling hooks, up ze sheer vall to ze vest!" Pete was quivering in fear as Sheila lifted her head and frowned.  
  
"...They're not usin' the portal?" she muttered, before shaking her head and looked back down at Pete. "What about Bobby and Billy?"  
  
"Zhey panicked, und hid in Bobby's house. Z-ze rhynocs are going right for it, zhough!" Pete started hyperventilating, and Sheila popped him across the face with her paw, shaking him by his lederhosen straps.   
  
"Pete! I need ya to calm down, and focus for me, alright? Run as fast as ya can, go through the portal, try to get a message out to Sarge and tell him what's happenin' here. He'll take it from there. Understand?" Pete's head bobbled a few times, and Sheila turned him around before giving him a "push" to the backside with her foot, nearly making the goat fall flat on his face before Pete sprinted out of her cave. Sheila hopped out of her cave after him with her brow set low over her green eyes, jaw set forward and teeth bared.   
  
"These filthy rhynocs picked the wrong week to mess with my home," muttered the kangaroo darkly, her feet taking her quickly in the opposite direction of Pete, towards the other exit of the large cavern.  
  
Spyro landed in the grass again, looking around with a small smile. Sheila's home was fairly pretty, in his opinion. Nice mountain air, with a cool breeze. A little chilly for his tastes, but then again, he was a dragon, and could handle tundras if he needed to, which he had, and no one could argue with the view, the afternoon sun shining brightly through some clouds in the distance.  
  
To his left was a sheer cliff wall, that he immediately let out a soft sigh at the sight of, since he didn't see any stairs, and he'd just remembered in detail just what a pain it was to get around this place if you weren't a kangaroo or a billy goat. Sparx gave Spyro a sympathetic look, though Spyro shook his head. "I'll manage."  
  
However, as the two moved towards the cliff, Spyro trying to remember how he made his way around this place the first time, Sparx nudged his horn, and he turned, spotting a rope ladder hanging down from the cliff, held there by two strong-looking wooden stakes. "Oh, good!" said Spyro appreciatively, trotting over to the ladder. It was still a little inconvenient, since he was a quadruped, but it was still _much_ better than scaling the rock wall.   
  
Once Spyro had hopped from the ladder onto level ground, though, he spotted a billy goat mid-fall, just before he landed, hard, on the ground, his horns getting stuck in the ground. Spyro couldn't help but snicker shortly after wincing, since he knew the feeling, but it was still funny.   
  
The dragon stepped over to the feebly bleating goat, who was struggling to free himself, and Spyro chomped down on the straps of the goat's lederhosen with his jaws and gave a tug, the billy goat falling onto his rear. "Try to be more careful next time," said Spyro cheerfully, avoiding calling the goat by name since - and he hated to admit it - they all looked the same to him. "It's not the fall that'll kill you, after--" However, Spyro immediately cut himself off at the sight of the goat's eyes; They were bloodshot and watery. "--all."  
  
Spyro stepped back, taking in the goat as a whole, and saw that Pete's entire body was quivering. The sight immediately made him cringe, guilt from his previous teasing clenching his stomach. "Sh-Sheila," whimpered the goat, climbing to his shaking feet. "Rh-rhynocs." Spyro gasped, looking to Sparx, whose own jaw - which could open to about the size of a softball to catch butterflies - fell open. The goat stumbled towards the cliff that Spyro had just climbed up from, obviously dazed from his fall, though he fell onto one knee, whimpering softly. "Have to... Go get Sergeant Byrd... Sheila said."  
  
The ridges above Spyro's eyes furrowed, and he looked up at his friend. "Sparx," he said, "go with him. Since we're in the Forgotten Worlds now, you can warp him to Sarge's place." Sparx nodded, and flew over to the billy goat, before beginning to fly very quickly around him several times. However, it seemed that in the goat's panic, the fall had injured him more than it looked, as Sparx turned from a bright gold to a dull green, which gave Spyro pause, but it was too late, as Pete disappeared before his eyes along with Sparx.   
  
Not able to do anything about it, now, Spyro turned to the next cliff face before charging for the rope ladder that lead to Billy's house and the cavern.   
  
He just hoped he wasn't too late.  
  
* * *  
  
Sheila was too late.   
  
A large hook attached to a rope erupted from behind the lip of the cliff, landing on the ground several yards from her, though it slid back, before hooking onto a large, strong tree by the roots. "No," she whispered, and used her powerful legs to launch herself forward, claws of her feet kicking up grass and dirt.   
  
A huge, dull orange hand slammed onto the ground from behind the cliff, and Sheila froze, skidding to a stop. A rhynoc lifted his head up beside the tree. Spotting Sheila, the rhynoc grinned darkly, heaving himself up onto level ground with a soft grunt, making Sheila's throat catch in her throat. He was utterly massive, taller than the largest rhynoc she'd ever seen, but while most other large rhynocs were mostly fat, this one was brawny with what look to her like almost pure muscle. "I hope you don't mind," said the rhynoc, and Sheila couldn't help but take in the tiniest of gasps at the sheer bass and gravel, "that I had to take the scenic route." The rhynoc adjusted the white tunic he was wearing on his broad frame as his long, red cape billowed behind him and the red mohawk thing on his helmet bristled in the mountain breeze.  
  
Sheila clenched her paws into fists, her eyes falling to the grappling hook, which was moving, though the large rhynoc stepped in front of it, wagging his finger at her. "No, no. Don't be getting any ideas, Miss Kangaroo..." The rhynoc rolled a massive shoulder, before taking a massive rectangular bronze tower shield from his back to hold it at his right side, his left hand falling onto the hilt of his blade, one eye obscured by the horn on the end of his snout, which was much longer than the normal rhynoc's, and much sharper.   
  
"We have met before, but allow me to introduce myself. I am the General. It's a pleasure for you as it is for me, I'm sure... You are just _quivering_ with joy." The General tilted his head in the other direction, so that the cloudy, opaque right eye, with a scar cutting from the corner of his mouth all the way up and past the helmet, could be seen by Sheila now, and that massive grin widened all the more, stretching the scar across his face. "...Or is that fear?"  
  
Sheila seethed. Her body was indeed quivering, but her blood was running cold and her ears were pinned back against her skull. She recognized him now: He was the rhynoc that had stuffed her and her friends, though she didn't know them at the time, into cages last year. "You have..." While her voice was shaking in rage, it had gone completely and dangerously soft. "...Three seconds. Get off of my mountain, now, or I'll push you off." The claws on Sheila's toes dug into the earth below as the General merely smirked.  
  
"One." The General's grip upon the leather of his sword tightened, making it creak. "Two." Sheila's muscles contracted, her green eyes falling onto the grappling hook for just a moment, before snapping to the General's face.   
  
"Three!"  
  
Sheila closed the distance between herself and the General much more quickly than the General seemed to expect, his one working eye widening in surprise. The rhynoc drew his sword, swinging it directly out of its sheath in a downwards angle, where the tip cut a long scar into the ground, and even the stone beneath the dirt. However, Sheila had leaped over the long sword's swing, flipping forward in the air to aim both of her powerful feet at the General's face.  
  
With a yell of effort and rage, both of Sheila's feet kicked out, the General lifting his shield just in time. However, her kick left a deep pair of dents in the bronze, and there was a dense clunk as the shield bounced off the General's helmet. The General stumbled back, his sword and shield dropping out of his hands and onto the ground on either side of Sheila as she landed. One of the General's feet lifted up, and he leaned back, part of the cliff crumbling away under his remaining foot.  
  
With a yell, the General fell, and Sheila's chest heaved, before she took in a deep, shaking breath. "Ha," grunted Sheila, rolling her head back and forth before shaking out her legs and feet. "That was easier than I expected it to be..." Sheila bounced past the sword and shield, towards the hook. With a sigh, she positioned herself near the tree, starting to lean back onto her strong tail, preparing to kick the tree off of the cliff, if she had to.  
  
However, the General's hand slammed onto the ground again, this time right next to her, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. The General used that single hand to heave himself up onto level ground with much more speed than Sheila had expected, and she couldn't defend herself from the General's right hand clamping down around her entire neck - but not cutting off her oxygen - and lifting her off the ground with ease as the General stood up, holding Sheila at arm's length and eye-level. She could see a dent in his helmet, just above his clouded right eye.  
  
"Heheh..." Sheila could almost swear that the General's deep, mirthless laugh alone made her throat close up, and she took in a gasp automatically. "Nice shot," he said, stepping to the other side of the tree, lowering onto one knee. "But... In the end, _useless."_ As the General grabbed the grappling hook, Sheila writhed and wriggled in his grasp, lifting her feet up to try and get out of his grip, but her kicks were useless and even her sharp claws couldn't penetrate the hide on his hand to pry it apart. "My army will not be stopped, now." Lifting the grappling hook, he slammed it into the ground, before bringing a foot and most of his weight down onto it to jam the prongs into the solid rock beneath the layer of dirt.   
  
"Sheila?" called a voice, and both Sheila and the General looked up to Sheila's left, towards where Bobby's house had been built on another level of the cliff. "Are zhey g--" A goat, Billy, had peeked over the edge of the cliff above, but at the sight of the General, he immediately scrambled back, his panicked bleating disappearing as a door slammed. Sheila's ears fell back against her skull and her pupils contracted in horror of what the sight of the goat now implied.  
  
"Oh, no..." The General's grin threatened to split his face in two, before he wound up, literally pitching Sheila away from him with a single effortless heave, where she first hit a stone protruding from the dirt, her body curling backwards, and something definitely cracked, before her momentum made her spin and roll across the ground, though she managed to skid to a halt by digging the claws of her feet into the earth. Looking up, she saw the General grabbing up his sword before sprinting towards where she knew Bobby's house was, and her brain shut down as her legs took her towards the cliff, moving to intercept the General and stop him by any means necessary as she leaped up at the General's left, clearing the cliff and then some in a single bound, while the General barely managed to secure his footing on the very edge.  
  
However, that edge was all he needed, his upper body twisting, and he made himself turn in a single spin, adding momentum to swing his sword in a wide backhanded arc, aimed to slice Sheila's head clean from her shoulders.  
  
Sheila, her own momentum taking her forward, could only watch as the shimmering blade came towards her. Time slowed down. She could see her reflection in the metal, the malevolent glint in the General's eye, and Bobby and Billy's heads poked out from the doorway of Bobby's house as they watched their best friend and protector about to give her life for them.   
  
Sheila closed her eyes.  
  
 _"Sheila!"_ yelled a different, but familiar voice. Sheila opened her eyes again just in time to see a purple blur slam into her already injured chest, sending her backwards, the very tip of the massive sword splitting a single hair on the tip of her ear.   
  
Spyro wrapped his front legs around Sheila's waist, holding her as he glided back down to the ground, though with her added weight, it was a heavier landing than he probably intended, both of them slamming onto the ground and rolling several feet, though Spyro got back onto his feet easily, as Sheila, on her back, stared at the dragon. "S-Spyro?" she asked, and even in that moment, she hated that her voice was meek and tiny.  
  
But Spyro wasn't looking at Sheila. His back was arced upwards and his head was low as he stepped to Sheila's side, and the kangaroo groaned in pain as she sat up and looked up at the General, clutching her ribs - one of them was at the very least cracked. "Spyro the Dragon," rumbled the General. For the first time, he was grimacing, teeth bared before he snarled through his nostrils. "...I did not expect you... So soon."   
  
Spyro lifted his head slightly, his tail whipping back and forth much like an angry cat's might, returning the General's snarl, though Sheila thought Spyro's was a little more impressive, with plumes of smoke rising from both nostrils. "Can't say we've met," said Spyro, his wings flapping irritably every now and then, though he grinned. "But I guess my reputation precedes me."  
  
"I am called the General." The General stepped up to the edge of the cliff above them as he spoke, crouching down and resting his elbow onto one knee. Sheila could swear she saw a shadow fall over the General's eye, and his brow furrowed as his frown deepened. However, the General shook his head, standing tall on his two feet again. "It does not matter. I have the high ground. And..." The General turned, towards Bobby's cottage. "...Hostages."  
  
Spyro and Sheila charged forward, the dragon grabbing hold of the rope ladder that had been added, while Sheila simply jumped up, both of them catching sight of the General simply lifting the roof as if it had a hinge with one hand. With a heave, he threw the roof backwards, behind the house, where it dropped off the cliff and into the abyss below.  
  
The General reached out with his right hand, wrenching the door off its hinges and pitching it at Sheila and Spyro, who split off from their charge at the General, who used the distraction to mantle over the now-roofless wall.  
  
Through the empty doorway, Sheila could see Billy and Bobby huddled into the far corner, both of them quivering in fear for their lives.   
  
_"Step back!"_ yelled another familiar voice from above, and a rocket came down, exploding between the General and the two goats, making the General stumble back before shooting a glare upwards. Following the General's gaze, Sheila and Spyro looked up.  
  
Sgt. Byrd glided down from the air, the penguin landing on top of the wall. "Step away from the civilians," said Sgt. Byrd, his eyes briefly obscured by his helmet, with three stripes emblazoned on the front, before he lifted his head, glaring daggers at the General, the pair of rocket launchers fitted above Byrd's wings aimed directly at the General's head. "That is an order. Unless you'd like to lose your other eye along with your _head_ from your _shoulders."_  
  
The General growled, low and deep, his fists shaking in barely-concealed rage. However, he glanced to his left, and the three of them looked over just in time to see a smaller rhynoc shatter a window with the butt of his crossbow before taking aim and loosing a bolt at Byrd, who lowered his head just in time so that the bolt bounced off his helmet. Still, the force of the bolt sent him falling off the wall, giving the General an opening to reach out and grab one of the petrified goats by the horn and throw him over the wall.   
  
"No!" screamed Sheila, but it was too late. The crossbow-wielding rhynoc outside reloaded in the time it took for gravity to take Billy again, and he caught the sobbing goat, wrapping one arm around his throat and placing the crossbow against Billy's temple. The General grabbed Bobby by the back of his suspenders and vaulted over the wall again. Sheila, Spyro and Byrd moved so that they were on the other side of the wall, but there was obviously very little that they could do. The General's grin was back, and he let out another laugh, opening his mouth to speak.  
  
 _"Long time, no see!"_  
  
The rhynoc holding Billy suddenly fell, a black hole bored into his temple before someone landed between Billy and the General, falling to one knee and aiming a laser blaster at the General. Agent 9, a gray monkey in a one-piece green spandex suit with a hole for his tail, a helmet with a metal ridge that resembled a mohawk, red gloves, and a manic gleam in his eye glanced to Sheila.   
  
"Did we miss the party?" asked the simian, pulling on his massive grin, before looking over his shoulder. "Thanks for the ride, big guy!"  
  
"'Big guy'?" asked Sheila, looking back as well. Bentley the Yeti, massive yet stout, covered in shaggy white fur save for his hands, his face around his eyes and his bare feet, though his skin was gray and tough, shouldered his club, which was nearly as tall as he was. Sparx buzzed down from above, hovering near Sheila's head, before he let out a buzzy fanfare. Relief washed over her; Her home was saved. Bentley inclined his horned head politely to Sheila, before reaching down to grab a large rock, probably the one the General had thrown her into, before heaving it out of the ground.  
  
Hefting his massive club, he tossed up the boulder as if he were serving for tennis, and whacked the stone, where it sailed at the General, who simply swung his sword to slice the stone cleanly in half. However, one half landed on the inside of his elbow by sheer chance, forcing him to drop Bobby, who scrambled desperately to the group. Sgt. Byrd took initiative, firing off a rocket, though the General dove off the cliff to the level with his troops, who, Sheila realized, must have been climbing up the grappling hook one at a time when she wasn't looking. "Attack them!" roared the General.  
  
Crossbow bolts were loosed into the air, but the group including Billy and Bobby hopped, jumped, or simply dropped off the cliff, the cloud of bolts landing where they had been just moments before. However, bolts were following them, though it seemed that rhynocs could not lead their shots. "Good to know rhynocs are just as stupid as ever!" shouted Spyro, skidding to a stop near Bentley. "Bentley, throw me at the General!"   
  
"Is that what he calls himself?" asked the yeti lifting Spyro up, and the dragon curled up into a ball. With a mighty throw, Bentley pitched Spyro where he'd asked, Spyro's small body spinning in the air. The General had picked up his shield just in time, lifting it just as Spyro's flames erupted from between his teeth.   
  
As Spyro latched on to the top, trying his damnedest to peek over the edge to get a good angle for a flame, Bentley, Sgt. Byrd and Agent 9 sprinted (or flew) at the army. While Sgt. Byrd and Agent 9 were able to easily dodge crossbow bolts, Bentley wasn't quite as agile, but his fur and skin were thick enough that, while some stuck in him, most simply bounced off his broad frame.  
  
Sheila, meanwhile, turned to Billy and Bobby. "You two head to the portal!" she shouted.  
  
"Surround them!" roared the General, finally just dropping his sword and grabbing Spyro by one of his horns and heaving his much smaller body away. Spyro wasn't able to get any wind under his wings to control himself in time to avoid slamming into Sgt. Byrd, taking them both down to the ground. "Open the Ninja Crates! Throw one to me!"  
  
"Ninja Crates!?" demanded Agent 9, kicking a rhynoc in the stomach before shooting him point-blank as Sgt. Byrd and Spyro scrambled to their feet, the General grabbing up his sword again and backpedaling towards the edge of the cliff.  
  
"Billy, Bobby, run! Now!" screamed Sheila. Bentley was launching away rhynocs five at a time, thinning and scrambling their numbers as he charged straight for the General, who was crouching near the edge of the cliff and reaching for something with his right hand. Bentley brought down his club, but the General lifted his sword, deflecting the equally heavy weapon so that it slammed harmlessly onto the ground.  
  
Though Sheila couldn't see it happening, she heard a creak of a lid even over the din of battle, and a rhynoc clad all in black climbed up the General's arm to deliver a kick into the middle of Bentley's face, making him stumble back, Bentley grabbing the offending foot and tossing the ninja off the cliff, though that gave the General enough time to swing the Ninja Crate - that an unseen rhynoc from below the cliff must have handed off to him - around, landing a blow on the side of Bentley's head hard enough to bend the metal casing.  
  
More ninjas leaped up from behind the cliff, many of them rushing to latch onto Bentley in one way or another, the yeti letting out a roar as he swung his arms, tossing a few of them off, but they just kept coming. Several ninjas flipped and somersaulted over the crowd of fellow rhynocs, simply moving too quickly for Agent 9 and Sgt. Byrd to blast all of them away. Sheila turned, spotting Billy and Bobby running back to her, as ninjas had gotten to the entrance of her cavern before the goats could.   
  
Spyro ran back to Sheila, before skidding to a stop and facing the ever-growing hoard of rhynocs. "You two!" he shouted at the goats. "Get between me and Sheila and stay close!" The goats complied, their bodies shaking.   
  
"Spyro, I cracked a rib when the General threw me into a rock!" Sheila told Spyro, and the dragon grunted as a rhynoc with a pickaxe charged at him, deflecting the blow with his horns before setting the enemy on fire for his trouble.  
  
"Don't worry!" yelled Sgt. Byrd as he came down from above, blasting the pickaxe-wielding rhynoc away. "I can assist you!"   
  
"Sarge, can you fly my friends away!?" Sheila kicked out, knocking a ninja back and taking a sharp gasp through her teeth. _Damn this rib..._ She looked over to Bentley, who had over a dozen ninjas on him at once, though he was still fighting strong, even managing to keep the General at bay, trying to push the taller rhynoc off the edge.  
  
"Not both at once, I'm afraid!" responded the penguin, blasting away a ninja out of the air.   
  
"Fine! Billy, grab Sarge's feet!" The goat complied as the penguin lowered to the ground. A pair of ninjas flipped in their direction, but a pair of laser blasts knocked them out of the sky. That was all Agent 9 seemed to be able to spare, however, as he turned right back to the hoard, firing as quickly at the rhynocs as the firing rate of his blaster would allow.  
  
With a grunt of effort, Sgt. Byrd carried Billy away, flying too high for ninjas, and soon too high for bolts, before disappearing behind the mountain towards the portal. Sheila turned to look at the General, whose eyes moved from where Sgt. Byrd had vanished to the ninjas piling on Bentley as he and the General had locked their fists together, their battle of attrition nearly evenly matched. "Capture the remaining goat! Now!" The ninjas, one by one, leaped off of Bentley's body, charging for Sheila and Bobby.  
  
Bentley made the mistake of turning his head away and the General pulled his head back, before slamming his forehead into the yeti's. Bentley's head snapped back and took the rest of his body with it. The General advanced on Bentley, bare-handed, his massive fists landing mighty blows on Bentley's face, with the shorter yeti unable to get within the General's superior range.  
  
Sheila took in a sharp gasp as she saw one blow in particular to Bentley's stomach made the yeti's torso curl in, and she could almost hear bones breaking even from her distance away as crimson splattered down Bentley's chin, staining the white fur on his chest as he fell heavily onto his back.   
  
"Sheila, Spyro!" screamed Agent 9, blasting ninjas left and right as he sprinted towards them, "Help Bentley! I'll protect Bobby! I promise!" Sheila hesitated. "I'll make sure no rhynoc gets within _ten feet and lives!"_ As Agent 9's voice dropped into a deep, gutteral growl and he ventilated a ninja's skull through the eye with a shot, Sheila and Spyro turned away, sprinting towards the General, his knee on the yeti's chest and his thumbs pressing into Bentley's throat.   
  
Rhynocs converged, but several explosions blew the rhynocs up or away, making a path. Sheila glanced up, spotting Sgt. Byrd, who gave them a nod, before she turned back. Spyro made the first leap, and the General straightened up, his grip on Bentley throat loosening for just a moment, to avoid the dragon's horns, before Sheila, moving to his blind spot, landed a sideways dropkick to the right side of the General's head. The General's helmet bounced away, and the massive rhynoc fell heavily onto his back, before he rolled, moving out of the way of several rockets before they exploded on the ground where he'd been previously. "Take out the penguin's launchers!" ordered the General.  
  
Bentley sat up, clutching his chest and heaving air. "Sheila... He's... Too strong," said the yeti, obviously shocked at the words coming out of his own mouth, and he coughed into his large hand, staring blankly at the red stains that appeared on his palm. Sheila heard Sgt. Byrd squawk, followed by an explosion. "I think... A lung's been punctured... Need... My club."  
  
"C'mon, Bentley, we have to get you out of here!" Sheila grabbed Bentley's massive hand in her comparatively tiny paws, pulling the yeti with all her might. Holding on by what was probably a thread, Bentley heaved himself to his own feet, stumbling away, Sheila kicked away any rhynocs that came close, and Spyro charged through the rhynocs with crossbows.   
  
"Rush the monkey! Use your superior numbers and range! Keep the others from getting to him! _Get that goat!"_ roared the General, and Sheila looked back, spotting the rhynoc climb to his feet, the right side of his face mildly swollen and his cape was singed, but he looked otherwise unhurt, his one good eye fixated on Sheila as he grinned maliciously, though he stayed back as his army followed his orders, Agent 9 getting whacked across the face with a ninja's stick, and nearly impaled by a pickaxe. He was fighting back the best he could, pulling Bobby along by the goat's suspenders to keep him from getting taken. Slowly but surely, however, he was getting overrun.  
  
Spyro and Sgt. Byrd moved as quickly as they could, but the crossbow rhynocs were indeed keeping them back. Bentley stumbled, nearly falling on top of Sheila before she got out of the way. "M-my club..." The yeti began to cough violently, rambling between heaves. "...Need my club..." Sheila's eyes began swimming with tears, the yeti lurching forward, though he managed to catch himself with his hand on the ground. "...Have to... To... Agent 9..." Bentley looked up, his eyes bleary for a moment, before they focused on Agent 9, who got knocked to the ground just as he looked at him. "...No..." Sheila blinked up at Bentley, whose lips curled back from his teeth in a snarl and his pupils contracted, which made Sheila flinch and the fur on her back stand on end. She had never seen Bentley get angry like this.  
  
Suddenly, Bentley charged, swinging his bare fists left and right, almost randomly, knocking rhynocs away with almost every swipe, bellowing in rage. Sheila and Spyro rushed after him via the trail he was creating, Sgt. Byrd flying backwards to fire at the rhynocs trying to close in on them, but with only one launcher functioning, his firing rate had taken a hit and he wasn't able to keep them at bay for very long.  
  
Agent 9 let out a scream of agony, and Sheila's eyes snapped to him. A ninja had brought down the end of his stick upon the monkey's left wrist while Agent 9 had fallen onto his back, snapping a bone, before twirling his stick and knocking Agent 9's blaster away.   
  
Bentley, in his crazed charge, accidentally stepped on the blaster, crushing it beneath his massive foot before his fist swung, catching the ninja under the eye, the rhynoc's head turning a near full 180 before his body followed as the force of Bentley's punch sent him flying. However, another ninja had landed near Bobby during the distraction, and brought his stick around to pull the goat flush to him by the throat. Bobby's panicked bleating caught Bentley's attention, and he turned his crazed eyes on him.   
  
Bentley took a step forward, but Sheila skidded to a stop in front of the yeti, lifting her paws up at him. "Stop, Bentley, please! You'll hurt Bobby!" There was a moment as Bentley's body tensed up and shook violently, before he suddenly took in a sharp gasp before falling to his knees, coughing and spluttering up more blood, Spyro slid to a stop near Agent 9, who was clutching his left wrist as he sat up. There was another squawk, and Sheila looked up, spotting Sgt. Byrd tossing his launcher away, where it exploded on the ground before he landed near the others. They all bunched up near the entrance to the cavern that cut through Sheila's mountain.  
  
"We have to retreat!" shouted Sgt. Byrd, his eyes wide as the crossbow rhynocs and ninjas started advancing.  
  
"I can't leave Bobby!" retorted Sheila. Bobby bleated pitifully as he sobbed, though the ninja tugged his stick briefly against Bobby's throat, making the goat gag. "Get yer filthy--"  
  
"Sheila!" snapped Spyro, and Sheila flinched, looking back at the dragon, but his eyes weren't on her. Following his gaze, she looked over to the General, who was walking slowly, almost casually towards them, his army parting to allow their leader through. In his left hand was Bentley's club, looking it over with some mild interest, as if it were an art piece.  
  
"You have all fought well," said the General, his right eye swollen shut from where Sheila had kicked him, not that it mattered. "But in the end, it was useless. I have acquired what I came for. You have a very beautiful home, Sheila, and an adorable little friend..."  
  
As the General walked towards the five, the ninja holding Bobby stepped backwards. "Bobby..." Sheila reached out towards him, but the General took a step, his foot landing heavily on the ground, wagging his finger as if scolding a child. In the background, Sheila saw more rhynocs still climbing up to level ground via the rope attached to the grappling hook.  
  
"I think you have more important things to worry about," growled the General, and Sheila looked around, her eyes falling on Bentley, who clutched his chest, then Agent 9, who bared his gums at the General as he held his wrist, his long tail whipping back and forth behind him. Spyro and Sgt. Byrd weren't in nearly as bad a shape as the others, but obviously there was very little any of them could do now.  
  
"...We have to go," said Spyro, and Sheila looked over to him, opening her mouth. "Sheila, if I have to drag you kicking and screaming through the portal by the tail, I will."  
  
"Sheila, there is nothing we can do for Bobby right now," said Sgt. Byrd, and Sheila felt her eyes welling up with tears, her bottom lip quivering. "We have to live to fight another day."  
  
"We gotta go, Sheila," said Agent 9, his own eyes falling on the pieces of his blaster, before looking sideways at her, uncharacteristically straight-faced. "I want this guy's _head mounted on my wall..._ But we're outnumbered and outgunned."  
  
"Sheila..." The kangaroo turned to Bentley, his breathing ragged and blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth. He'd recovered from his rage, if nothing else. "Have to... Regroup. I need... Medical attention. Please..." Tears began streaming down Sheila's face, and she turned to look up at the General, who patted Bentley's club on his palm as if it were a baseball bat.  
  
Slowly, Sheila began to walk backwards, the hulking frame of the General becoming cloudy through her tears, but she blinked them away. Don't cry. Stay strong. Everyone else moved with her, and she looked over to Bobby, whose bloodshot eyes streamed tears as well. "Bobby!" she called, pausing just before stepping under the massive entrance to her cavern. "We'll come back for you! I promise! Please, stay strong for me!"  
  
"Oh, I'll be looking forward to it," said the General, and Sheila looked up at him as he stepped towards her. She backpedaled and tripped, falling on her back, but Agent 9 pulled her up to her feet with his uninjured hand. "Please, heal and get better, come back when your anger drives you for revenge..." The General's one good eye fell on Bentley, who wheezed and coughed. "Doubtless, that yeti has little time left..."  
  
"Sheila!" shouted a voice from deep in the cavern. All eyes, including the General and his present army, turned. Billy was running towards them, but immediately skidded to a stop at the sight of the General, quivering in one spot.  
  
"I thought I told you to go through the portal!" shouted Sgt. Byrd, and Billy bleated pitifully.  
  
"I... I-I... Sheila... I didn't vant... Vant to be alone..." Sheila lifted her paws, pressing them into her face as she did her best to hold back her emotions, but it wasn't working. _Why is this happening to me!?_  
  
Sheila looked up again, just in time to see the General smirk, his eye fell on the five heroes again, as Billy fell onto his knees. "Know this, fools: This is only the beginning." With that, the General lifted Bentley's club with one hand and gave a pair of mighty swings, breaking away the wooden supports that held the entrance open, before he looked back at them with a malevolent smirk. "Come back soon. I enjoyed our time together," he rumbled deeply, stepping back with his army as the entrance caved in, Sheila's friends moving out of the way of the falling rocks and rubble while Sheila herself had to be pulled back, since she found herself unable to move.  
  
"Sheila?" There was a rushing sound in her ears, muting everyone's voices. _I have to be strong..._  
  
"Hey, Sheila?" Sheila's eyes stared forward, unfocused, staring at the pile of rocks and rubble, not really seeing it. _My friends weren't strong enough... They need me to be strong. I'm too strong to cry._  
  
"Sh-Sheila...?" Her eyes blurred with tears again and she lowered her head to clamp her paws over her eyelids, her body shaking from the effort as she forced herself not to sob. _I wasn't strong enough to stop him... Not strong enough to save Bobby..._  
  
"Sheila!" Sheila's breath became ragged, her chest heaving and her pulse pounding in her ear drums. _If I'm not strong enough to defend my own home, then what am I good for!?_  
  
"Sheila." Something touched her gently, and, taking in a sharp gasp, Sheila looked up, blinking and gulping. Her throat was dry and her eyes were bloodshot as she turned, looking at her friends. Spyro had stepped up to her, his front paw on her shoulder. "Sheila... I'm sorry, but we have to go, now. We'll be back for him. I promise."  
  
Her bottom lip quivering, Sheila gulped dryly again, and nodded. "Yeah... Crikey, I... O-okay..." Everyone watched her for a few moments before she started walking, not hopping, though she kept a good pace with Bentley, stepping up to him for support, if nothing else.   
  
"Sheila..." Sheila turned, Spyro falling into step beside her. "I promise, we'll save Bobby and get your home back. We need to regroup and patch ourselves up, think of a plan. Bianca and Hunter should have landed by now; they can help us. The General will wish he'd let himself get thrown off that cliff by the time we're ready to take back this mountain."  
  
Sheila took in a deep, shuddering breath through her nose, though she flinched, clutching her side. _Right. Cracked rib._ She, along with everyone else, looked forward as they walked, limped or flew through the cavern towards the other side.

**Author's Note:**

> Like many fans, I prefer to pretend that most of the other Spyro games don't exist, so this story is based on the original trilogy on the PlayStation.
> 
> The second chapter will be posted tomorrow; In the meantime, enjoy!


End file.
